New to Me Flagstaff 625D

[TSharp]

Just bought a 2007 Flagstaff 625D. This is my first journey into tent trailers...or any trailer for that matter. We've been tent camping for 15+ years and are ready to get off the ground!

Anyway, I just set it up in our driveway after buying it and the straps that hold the door to the ceiling were pulled out by the screws. Must have happened during the drive home. Looking at the ceiling, it's not the first time this has happened. Looks like they just drilled a new hole each time it happened. Curious if anyone else has had that issue and come up with a better solution? I was thinking of getting a small piece of sheet metal, maybe 4 inches, and screw it in over the area of each strap to make a new place to attach it. But I feel this would just be more of the same down the road. Any other creative solutions you've found that work well?

Also, haven't had much luck finding a downloadable manual for the trailer. I've found a couple threads of people looking for it, but no one seems to have a PDF of it to download.

[f5moab]

Manuals are kind of generic; not really specific to any model. The one I have just says Flagstaff Tent Camper Owner's Manual and in fact shows a HW on the front page. But not sure where I got the PDF file from; it's been a few years, but it does match the paper version given by the dealer. Many of the items such as furnace, stove, refrigerator, etc., have separate manufacturer manuals and those are paper that came with the trailer.

[Wiscampsin]

Welcome from Wisconsin and congrats on your 2007 Flagstaff 625D. It'll be great getting up off the ground.

[TSharp]

Originally Posted by f5moab

Manuals are kind of generic; not really specific to any model. The one I have just says Flagstaff Tent Camper Owner's Manual and in fact shows a HW on the front page. But not sure where I got the PDF file from; it's been a few years, but it does match the paper version given by the dealer. Many of the items such as furnace, stove, refrigerator, etc., have separate manufacturer manuals and those are paper that came with the trailer.

It did come with the manuals for all the appliances and such. Just not one for the trailer itself. So, I am not completely in the dark.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by TSharp

Anyway, I just set it up in our driveway after buying it and the straps that hold the door to the ceiling were pulled out by the screws. Must have happened during the drive home. Looking at the ceiling, it's not the first time this has happened. Looks like they just drilled a new hole each time it happened. Curious if anyone else has had that issue and come up with a better solution? I was thinking of getting a small piece of sheet metal, maybe 4 inches, and screw it in over the area of each strap to make a new place to attach it. But I feel this would just be more of the same down the road. Any other creative solutions you've found that work well?

It really depends on what material your roof is made from.

My old Coleman had the famous foam sandwich roof. If attaching anything to that (inside), I would epoxy a 3/4" plywood or hardwood pad to the roof, and then screw into that.

Assuming you have some kind of non-metal liner on the underside of the roof, the same technique would apply to avoid screwing into the roof core. I would also use epoxy putty to fill any existing screw holes.

A sheet metal interior liner (which I doubt) will shrink and/or expand too much for epoxy to hold long term.

This is a technique I have used on various fiberglass (both cored and non-cored) boats. On boats you really don't want water getting into the core or the fiberglass laminations.

just my thoughts and experiences
Fred W

[TSharp]

Originally Posted by pgandw

It really depends on what material your roof is made from.

My old Coleman had the famous foam sandwich roof. If attaching anything to that (inside), I would epoxy a 3/4" plywood or hardwood pad to the roof, and then screw into that.

Assuming you have some kind of non-metal liner on the underside of the roof, the same technique would apply to avoid screwing into the roof core. I would also use epoxy putty to fill any existing screw holes.

A sheet metal interior liner (which I doubt) will shrink and/or expand too much for epoxy to hold long term.

This is a technique I have used on various fiberglass (both cored and non-cored) boats. On boats you really don't want water getting into the core or the fiberglass laminations.

just my thoughts and experiences
Fred W

I will look close when I go home tonight. But the inside is sheet metal and there is some layer of foam above that. I don't remember if the outside is sheet metal as well or some kind of composite. The straps were just attached with one sheet metal screw each (maybe 1/4 to 3/8 in length). My thought was maybe epoxy 4 inch pieces of sheet metal over the holes (something a little thicker) and then attaching to that.

[f5moab]

Auto industries use riv-nuts to fasten roof rails to the top of SUVs. Might work for the strap.

[exploreco]

Originally Posted by TSharp

Just bought a 2007 Flagstaff 625D. This is my first journey into tent trailers...or any trailer for that matter. We've been tent camping for 15+ years and are ready to get off the ground!

Anyway, I just set it up in our driveway after buying it and the straps that hold the door to the ceiling were pulled out by the screws. Must have happened during the drive home. Looking at the ceiling, it's not the first time this has happened. Looks like they just drilled a new hole each time it happened. Curious if anyone else has had that issue and come up with a better solution? I was thinking of getting a small piece of sheet metal, maybe 4 inches, and screw it in over the area of each strap to make a new place to attach it. But I feel this would just be more of the same down the road. Any other creative solutions you've found that work well?

Also, haven't had much luck finding a downloadable manual for the trailer. I've found a couple threads of people looking for it, but no one seems to have a PDF of it to download.

Welcome! See if this link helps you out and check out popupportal.com

There is a general manual for a 2007 that is probably close to what you are looking for Flagstaff Owners Manual

[TSharp]

Thanks! That is just what I needed!

[daverobenolt]

You can use what they call nut serts. It's similar to rivets but are threaded on the inside.


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[vinmaker]

Welcome to the forum.